The 2013 graduates have marched and have probably stopped celebrating by now. Although there are several uncertainties about their job prospects and all the overall economic stability of the country, one has to remain hopeful about what lies ahead. Although we are influenced by the general state of the US economy, you have to understand that your success, as a graduate, will depend on how you will shape your finances as you move hereon.
When you finish your studies, that usually marks the end of you being your parent’s financial responsibility. You are expected to start supporting yourself financially and move out of your parent’s wing. While you may have learned how to manage your money back in college, that was just the practice stage. Now, you have to face the real world armed with what you have learned and developed in school.
Financial habits that you need to develop after school
There are many financial tips that will tell you what habits should have been developed while you were in school. As you live on campus and away from your parents, you should have had the financial capabilities to see to it that your money is properly managed. But even if your parents were generous enough to give you unlimited monetary supply as you studied, you still need to develop these habits. It is not too late to start practicing proper financial management even as you begin looking for a job.
So what are the habits that you need to develop now? There are many of them but we have selected 3 of the most important financial tips that we believe will lead to the development of other smaller habits.
Budgeting. This is a crucial plan that will help you live within your means – which is an integral part of financial management. Your budget will give you a general overview of your finances – what money comes in and what goes out. You will take note of the financial activities that happen in your life and you will begin controlling that. Your budget plan will make all of this possible because in this plan, you will take note of your income and where it all goes. If you are creating your budget for the first time, you will have to list what you are currently spending on. Once you have a month’s worth of expense data, you can look them over to prioritize what you should be spending on. Take note of those that are not important and you can cut back on. You have to make sure that whatever expenses you have will be within what you can afford to spend. If you are having trouble with a budget template, you can download the free budget planner worksheet on this site.
Save. It is very important that you start saving as early as possible. This is not just for retirement. There are several life events that you have to spend on and it pays to just buy most of them in cash. Here are some of the things that you could start saving up for in order of priority (at least, this is our suggestion):
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Emergency fund
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Car
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Home
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Marriage
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Retirement
It is ideal that you concentrate on your emergency fund first and once you have it you can put in even small amounts of money into all the other savings. Or you can do two at a time. You retirement is highly encouraged to be a staple in your savings contribution. You can save up for a car first before you start saving for a home. It all depends on your priorities – the important thing is to aim paying in cash for things that you think you will need in the future.
Smart spending. Lastly, you need to learn how to spend your money wisely. Gone are the days when your parents supported your every expense. Now, it is all up to you. Most college graduates are overwhelmed by the things that they have to spend on. This is not really about being thrifty or too cheap. You want to get the most value out of your money and that entails some serious thinking and consideration before you purchase. Learn how to make a list before going to the grocery and refrain from relying too much on your credit card. These are only a few of the things that you should implement to practice smart spending.
How to deal with your college-incurred debt
Once you step out of college there are two types of debt that you need to deal with.
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Student loans. You have to realize that 6 months after you graduate, you have to begin paying your student loans with interest. It is important that you come up with a payment plan to help you deal with it. You can visit StudentAid.ed.gov to get information about how you can find debt relief from this credit obligation.
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Credit cards. Most parents gave their children credit cards to help finance their immediate needs in college. More often than not, graduates find themselves with a significant amount of credit card debt to their name. Try to eliminate these high interest rate debt before the other high interest student loan starts to kick in. Otherwise, both debts could pull you under.
You debt may be a daunting task to overcome but you can conquer it by being organized and disciplined about it. Here are the steps that you can follow to deal with your debt.
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Know how much you owe.
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Find out any financial aid that you can avail like any forgiveness program that you may qualify for.
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Create a payment plan and make sure it coincides with your budget.
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Make steady payments towards your debts.
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Know the debt relief options that can help with your high interest credit card debt.
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Limit your spending to maximize your debt payments.
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Grow your savings so you don’t have to compromise your debt payments when an emergency strikes.